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Tom Murphy
City of Pittsburgh's Mayor's webpage, absent. * Tom Murphy's political web page: absent. * Unofficial lance Tom Murphy site: absent. Votes earned * Tom Murphy only recieved 48.3% of the vote (32,683) in the Democratic primary, May 2001. Total is 67,657 votes. http://www.county.allegheny.pa.us/elect/200105pri/results.asp *Recieved 39,257 votes in the 2001 general election (would have been 58% of voters in primary). Total is 52,839 votes. http://www.county.allegheny.pa.us/elect/200111gen/results.asp * John Kerry got 110,000 votes in 2004 in the city of Pittsburgh. Grounds for criticism: * Handling of downtown's Fifth and Forbes. Downtown has been ignored and pushed to despair by design. * Corporate welfare Building the stadiums and wanting to fund a new arena for the Penguins are prime examples. * Refusal to deal with the city's financial problems throughout his term in the PA House and while on Grant Street for the past 12 years. Media mentions * KDKA.com - Murphy: Perceived Rivalry With O'Connor Not True after Bob O'Connor's death in September, 2006 -- Also see: Bob vs. Tom * New career at Urban Land Institute from Tribune Review in June, 2006 * Pulp story about impeachment * Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy is a control freak who is out of control. Trib opinion :In spite of his self-made mess, Murphy made an astounding admission. He actually turned down "a number of developers" who wanted individual URA properties. :''This career politician whose political career is on life-support, has divined that parcels in the URA-created ghost town should be developed "holistically." A master redeveloper is easier for the mayor to control. :''And arrogance prevents Murphy from admitting his failures. :''Tom Murphy will not loosen his death grip on development because he cannot. For someone with control issues, Murphy's worst nightmare must be uncontrolled (as in market-based) growth. * Murphy's comments on Nov 22, 2004 after the legislature passed ''historic whatever. Cranberry Doesn't Murphy own a bunch of prime property near Cranberry? Wasn't this a big issue four years ago? It was on the news. Couldn't you just ask rhetorically what Murphy sees in Cranberry that he does not see in Pittsburgh, when it comes to investing. What can Pgh learn from Cranberry? This news has been about town for a number of years. Police have even had it on the scanner, as to not guard the mayor's home on the North Side because he is elsewhere. In public he has even talked about working the land. Tom Murphy needs to move a job in the private sector and can reside elsewhere upon his retirement from the city. Little else needs to be made of this point as most of the people in the city knows Murphy is with this Cranberry conection. I don't own any land in Cranberry. I am a 100% Pittsburgher who is raising a family on the historic South Side. This isn't a major issue, but it is a talking point which differentiates favorably vs. Murphy. Off the hook Federal prosecutors won't indict former Mayor Murphy Monday, June 26, 2006, By Dennis B. Roddy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Federal prosecutors today said they would not indict former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy over accusations that he traded a generous contract with the city's firefighters in return for their endorsement. U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan said in a prepared statement that the agreement "acknowledges the facts surrounding the City's 2001 contract with the Pittsburgh Fire Fighters Local No. 1 and the benefits Mr. Murphy reaped from his actions, and requires the former Mayor to take certain actions to help ensure that future contracts are not awarded in a clandestine fashion." " If Mr. Murphy performs all of the actions required by the agreement within one year and cooperates fully in all debriefings, provides evidence, and testifies before any Court or City oversight entity, the federal investigation will be closed and no federal charges will be brought against him." Among terms of the agreement: -- Mr. Murphy agreed to be debriefed by the U.S. Attorney's office and special agents. -- He agreed to provide full, complete, accurate and truthful information and evidence within his knowledge or control concerning the investigation. -- He promised to provide all documents and physical evidence within his possession concerning the investigation. -- He also agreed "to testify in proceedings in the Western District of Pennsylvania and elsewhere. Murphy will also, when requested, provide information and testimony to the Pittsburgh City Council, the Act 47 Board, and any state or local court regarding the events of 2001 related to the contract negotiations with the Firefighters Union." Mr. Murphy's lawyer, David Hickton, characterized the deal as "a non-prosecution agreement" that shifted the discussion of the 2001 contract to "a matter of policy, rather than a matter of criminal law." He said the mayor would be working with Ms. Buchanan primarily on reforming state Act 111, which governs the binding arbitration which applies to police and firefighters contracts. He said they might talk to state officials about ideas like preventing contract negotiations during election season, or giving city councils some say over what kinds of contract provisions are agreed to between the parties before arbitration starts. The unusual agreement follows a two-year joint investigation by the FBI and the Allegheny County District Attorney's office. The investigation was sparked when Mr. Murphy announced the need for cutbacks when the city slipped into insolvency three years ago. Joe King, president of the firefighters union, issued a public letter saying the mayor had reneged on an agreement to settle with the firefighters in return for their support in a close Democrat primary race. While announcing the new contract, the union also switched its support from Mr. Murphy's challenger in the 2001 primary, then City Council President Bob O'Connor, to Mr. Murphy. Mr. Murphy did not seek re-election after serving for three terms, and Mr. O'Connor was elected and became mayor in January. Links * Trib editorial about Murphy's tenure from December 2005. Not * Tim Murphy, a US Congressman in 2006 * Louis Murphy, a candidate in 2006 Letters to editor * Murphy & the law III - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review in June, 2006 :Dear Mary Beth: :''For God's sake, have you lost your mind? If there has ever been a more deserving candidate of the hospitality of the federal government than one Tom Murphy, I cannot think of any in this region. You owe the citizens of this city an explanation as to why Tom is not doing the perp walk from Chatham College to your offices on Grant Street, where he committed all his misdeeds as the worst mayor this city has had the misfortune to have. D. Kevin Flannery, Overbrook Murphy Tom